The rise of “Islamic state” in Iraq and Syria
Cockburn’s 160 pages are an introduction to the rapid rise of Islamic State (IS) across Iraq and Syria. Recycling material from articles in the Independent and London Review of Books Cockburn charts how Islamists from various groups came to dominate the Syrian rebellion after 2012 and changed it from one of predominantly secular and democratic opposition to the ultra-conservative. In which Saudi Wahhabism and Saudi and Gulf state funding played a big role. Cockburn argues here, as he has in the past, the invasion of Iraq created a sectarian war between Shia and Sunni. Subsequently a US-backed...